Trolley-pole.



J. HARSEN.

TROLLEY POLE. l APPLIOATION FILED 116.25, 190e.

937,935. Patented oct. 26,1909.

if f/forny.

JACOB I-IARSEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TROLLEY-POLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led August 25, 1908.

Patented Oct. 26, 1909.

Serial No. 450,206.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB HARSEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Trolley- Poles, of which the following is aclear, full, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in trolley poles for trolley carsand my object is to provide for a construction that will readily adjustitself to any direction in which the car may be moving, such as takingswitches and rounding curves, and enable the trolley wheel carriedthereby to easily follow the trolley wire. This I accomplish by dividingthe trolley pole into separate sections and pivoting them together sothat the portion which carries the trolley wheel may turn transverselyto the line of travel of said wheel. This will enable the trolley wheelto keep to the wire although the main portion of the pole and car maynot be directly beneath the same.

It is well known that with the ordinary rigid trolley pole, there isconsiderable side Vstrain on the trolley wheel and a tendency for it toleavethe wire when a car is rounding a curve owing to the fact that thecar is not directly beneath the wire and therefore twists the trolleypole to one side. This fault in the ordinary trolley pole is remedied bymy construction.

My invention will be defined in the claims.

The drawings show a preferred embodiment of my invention in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of my construction with the disk portion of thewheel carrying member removed through section line A-B of Fig. 2. Fig. 2is a longitudinal section through line C-D of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is asideview of the complete device. Fig. 4 is a section taken through line E-Fof Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view of the upper portion of the trolley poleshowing a wheel inv engagement with a-trolley wire.

In the drawings 1 represents the main portion of the pole or basemember.

2 represents the upper portion of the pole or wheel carrying membercarrying the wheel 5 as shown in Fig. 5.

The main portion 1 of the pole is preferably provided at its upper endwith a cupshaped portion 3 as shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 4.The wheel carrying member 2 of the pole is preferably provided with adisk-shaped portion 4 which fits over the cup-shaped portion of the mainpole member and serves as a cover disk to form a hollow chamber. It isobvious that the cup-shaped portion and the disk portion which form thishollow chamber may be constructed respectively on either the mainportion 1 of the trolley pole or upon the wheel carrying member and theconstruction here shown is merely a preferable form of arranging theseportions to form a hollow casing. f

Projecting from the central portion of the disk member 4 is a circularboss 4, and also opposite the same is a projecting boss 3a from thecent-ral part of the cup-shaped member 3, the latter boss having aflange 3b extending therefrom and encircling the firstnamed boss 4a toform a bearing therefor. A pivot stud 6 passing through said bosses vv3and 4b pivotally connects the two members together. Encircling thisstud, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, are twoA torsional springs 10 and11. These springs are so coiled about the pivot stud as to act inopposite directions, the spring 10 having one end connected to the boss7 of the cup-shaped portion 3 and the spring 11 having one end connectedto theboss 8 at the opposite side l of the pivot stud of this sameportion 3 and both springs bearing on opposite sides of the boss 9 ofthe disk-shaped portion. Thus, it is seen that these two springs formoppositely acting tension means normally maintaining the two sections 1and 2 of the pole alinement. It may not be necessary in all cases tomount these oppositely acting torsional springs such as I haverepresented in the present ca se for it is obvious that equivalent meansmay be used to connect them to separate parts of the trolley pole inorder to form oppositely acting tension means. I-Iowever, these springsin all cases should be so arranged so as to allow the upper portion 2 ofthe pole to swing on its pivot in either direction as the case mayrequire when the car is rounding a curve and to bring the same back inalined position to the main portion of the pole as soon as the car isagain on a straight track. In order to firmly connect the wheel carryingmember 2 to its disk portion 4, I have preferably shown a reinforcedportion 12 which laps over and partially surrounds the upper side wall15 of the cup-shaped portion 3. A rim 13 preferably projects from theupper part of the cup-shaped portion to serve as a guide for the part12.

What I claim is A p Y l. A trolley pole comprisinga base member and awheel member normally in alinement therewith, said members being pivotally connected by a stud to permit a lateral turning of said wheelmember, one of said members having a cup-shaped portion and the othermember a coperating cover disk for forming a casing around said stud,and yielding means wholly inclosed within said casing for normallymaintaining said members in alinement.

2. A trolley pole comprising a base member and a wheel membernorinallypin alineinent therewith and adapted to be swung` laterallytherefrom, one of said members having a cup-shaped portion and the othera coperating cover disk for forming a `casing therewith, oppositelydisposed bearing bosses projecting from the central portions of said cupand disk members, and a iange extending from one of said bosses andencircling the other to provide avbearing therefor, a pivot stud passingthrough said bosses for pivotally connecting said members, and yieldingmeans wholly inclosed within said Vcasing for normally maintaining saidmeinsitely acting torsional springs coiled around' said pivot stud andconnected to each member of said trolley pole. y

4. A trolley pole comprising a base member and a wheel member carrying atrolley wheel, one `of said members having a cup-i shaped portionv andthe other member a cover disk for forming a casing therewith, saidmembers being pivotally connected by a stud through the center of saidchamber and at rightlangles to thel axis of rotation of said trolleywheehsaid cup-shaped por.-

Vtion havinga projectingy boss at each side of its center and said coverdiskhaving a similar boss at its .lower central portion, a pair otoppositely acting torsional springs coiled around said pivot st-udvforkeepingY said members in alinement, both` of said springs engaging withthe lower central boss of the cover disk and'one spring being connectedto each of. the side bosses of the cup-shaped portion.

Signedat city` of New York,ll\l.V Y. thisr 2l day of August 1908.

JACOB HARSEN.

Vitnesses:

ROBERT Ross, EDWARD J. ONEILL.

